


Best Not Mess With The McDucks

by Neminine



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Dragon AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-15 08:31:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14787026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neminine/pseuds/Neminine
Summary: There is a reason Scotland says: Best not mess with the McDucks.





	1. Chapter 1

“Best not mess with the McDucks.” That was a saying around Scotland for years. Even after the Clan fell into the gutter the saying persisted. “Best not mess with the McDucks!” Would laugh the young and foolish, before they would return with wide eyes and horrified whispers. “Best not mess with the McDucks.” That phrase followed Scrooge throughout his youth, strengthening him. “Best not mess with the McDucks!” Yelled Hortense after a less then pleasant individual attempted to waylay her, the duck fled her presence as quickly as he could. “Best not mess with the McDucks.” Matilda giggle as she snuggled her chosen husband, Ludwig Von Drake. Scrooge was less then impressed, the Von Drake Clan wasn’t even trying. When the four left for America, all of Scotland breathed a sigh of relief. Now it was the New World’s turn to learn the harsh lesson, “Best not mess with the McDucks.” 

Matilda and Ludwig split from Scrooge and Hortense not long after landing. Ludwig wished to pursue the art of Science and Scrooge desired to build a fortune. They left each other on friendly terms, with Ludwig winked at Scrooge. “Show these upstarts why Scotland says, Best not mess with the McDucks.”

When Hortense introduced Scrooge to Quackmore Duck, Scrooge quietly pulled her aside, “Best not mess with the McDucks.” He whispered to her, reminding her of what would happen to him one day. She threw his words back at him with a hiss and left. The next he, Matilda, and Ludwig hear of her is when the invitations show up in the mail to her and Quackmore’s wedding. Matilda tried to warn her sister one last time, “Best not mess with the McDucks, Hortense!” She was brushed off and Hortense McDuck became Hortense Duck. The three vowed to be there for their foolish family when the inevitable happened to Quackmore. 

A small ray of hope for the youngest shown when her twin ducklings hatched. Maybe they would have more McDuck then Duck in them? However, Hortense declared that the ducklings were Ducks through and through. They had argued, and the car crash afterwards would haunt the surviving three forever. “Best Not Mess With The McDucks.” etched forever on the shared gravestone of Hortense and her husband. The ducklings, Della and Donald, stayed with Grandma Duck for the first years of their lives. Then circumstances forced Scrooge to take them in. He found out that Della was very much a McDuck, and that warmed his heart. Donald on the other hand, was just like his father, and so Scrooge pushed him away, so when it happened it wouldn’t hurt. “Best not mess with the McDucks.” Scrooge told Della as she admired herself in the lake water. Ludwig threw himself in to a scientific solution to Donald’s problem, Scrooge a magical. Both him and Della would push Donald into anything situation they could in hopes that something would save Donald from the inevitable. It wasn’t enough, it never was. 

When Della vanished Scrooge couldn’t help it. He pushed then away. Huey, Dewey, and Louie shown no sigh of being McDucks. His heart couldn’t take it. Because of the single thing he knew to be true. “Best not mess with the McDucks.” because anything else would hurt too much.

It was a nightmare. Glomgold had pulled out all stops to kill Scrooge this time. Gladstone had already revealed his true form, the Luck Dragon defending the triplets and Webby, all four in their Dragon forms, squeaking in fear. Ludwig and Matilda lunged to join Gladstone in his defense of the little dragons. Ludwig’s smaller, less powerful form dropped back behind the more dangerous one of Matilda’s dragon form. Scrooge dropped into a crouch, shifting into his dragon form. “Donald! Stay back lad! We’ll handle this!” Glomgold laughed at Scrooge. “Ha! Ye think that ye can protect the weakest of yer family, Scrooge!? I hired the best hunters out there to bring down ye family!” Scrooge snarled, he felt his near lava like breath build, when Donald step in front of hjs family. “Leave them alone Glomgold. Or else.” “Or else what? Ye are a weak defenseless ingrate!” Donald smirked and jumped forward into a graceful swandive, dark blue and white paws hit the ground, blue and white scales gleamed with faint bio luminescence. Scrooge felt his mind screech to a stop. The Sea Dragon, rarest and most powerful of the dragons, stalked forward, Donald summoning a storm in his anger. “What do you know about Sea Dragons Glomgold? Did you know we are the Harbingers of ill fortune to our enemies? And Glomgold, you foolish idiot, guess who you are to me.” Donald leaned down to hiss the last words in Glomgold’s face. Donald charged his own breath, the lightening building and bouncing off his teeth. “Run Glomgold. RUN! And never touch my family again.” Scrooge almost cried. Hortense’s son would live. He wouldn’t live a devastatingly short life span of a mortal duck. He had wasted thirty-five years trying to not get attached to the child of Hortense that he had believed for so long would die at the young age of 100. Maybe, with hard work, just maybe he could make it up to his nephew one day. But watching Glomgold run screaming from the ill luck harbinger, his nephew, the Sea Dragon, Scrooge smirked. Best not mess with the McDucks indeed!


	2. A Duck Can Never Get Angry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donald's side of things.

"A Duck can NEVER get angry." Five year old Donald had been confused by his Grandma's warning. "But Gramma Duck! You said dad was mad a lot! Like all the time!" "Let me rephrase that Donald. A Duck can NEVER get angry at a PERSON." "Why?" "Bad things happen to them." Donald had thought about that hard. "Then why can Della get mad at people?" Grandma Duck had smiled sadly at the Duckling. "Because she is her mother's daughter."

"Donald, please come with me. It is time to show you why a Duck can never get angry." Donald had been six when he first saw his Grandma's dragon form, the foamy cream and sea green scales had almost hypnotized the duckling. "You must never show your dragon form to any non Sea Dragons unless you have near perfect control over your ability." "Why Grandma?" "Because you will curse them with bad luck. Sea Dragons are immune to the effects of another Sea Dragon, but no one else is. That is why we can't get angry at people, mad yes, even upset. But never angry. We would curse them with bad luck." So Donald remembered, and never got angry and never shown his dragon form to anyone other then Grandma Duck.

Until he had to go live with Uncle Scrooge. Immediately, it was obvious that Scrooge preferred Della to him. But even then he refused to get angry at his uncle. Their foes on the other hand, Donald's wrath brought terrible fates down on their heads. Rock slides would swallow up mercenaries, rogue waves would capsize pirates and drag them down, someone who tried to poison Della drank his own drink instead of the safe one. Donald was scared, he had been angry at each of them and they suffered horrific fates. Donald still could hear the screaming from the last adventure, so he called Grandma Duck. "Grandma? I'm killing people. I forgot a Duck can never get angry." Grandma Duck quickly convinced Uncle Scrooge to send Donald back to the farm. It hurt to be separated from Della, but Donald had to get this under control, before more people died because he threw a temper tantrum.

The Donald that returned after two years was a different Donald. Not that Della or Uncle Scrooge noticed. They had grown close over the two years and only seemed to include Donald as an after thought. It hurt, but Donald could not get angry at Scrooge or Della. He endured everything thrown at him. Strangely it seemed like they were trying to extend his life, just like Uncle Ludwig who fostered countless strange concoctions on the young duck. Donald didn't think it was important. As long as he could swim at night he was fine. He will never again forget a Duck can never get angry.

Then Della was gone. Cursed with bad luck by another Sea Dragon. Donald hunted down the perpetrator and cornered him, shifting into his own dragon form. "What did you do to my sister!?" The other Sea Dragon's answer had Donald find out the last part of why a Duck can never get angry. Ducks were the only Sea Dragon lineage that can curse other Sea Dragons with misfortune. That Sea Dragon was captured and killed by a hungry Kraken not even a week later.

Donald raised Della's sons alone. Scrooge pushing them away. He never was in his dragon form, not after that night. His nephews's brightly colored dragon forms swirled around the cabin of house boat as they would run and play. The father had definite South American heritage, after all, that is the only place Quetzalcoatls are native to. Living on the ocean help a bit, but it wasn't enough, and Donald felt as if he couldn't call Grandma Duck for help. Because this time, he didn't forget her words, he ignored them. A Duck can NEVER get angry. 

And then Donald was back with Uncle Scrooge. He seethed inwardly as Scrooge would push him aside in exchange for the boys. Why didn't Scrooge love him? But even as he felt the ill luck within him reach for Scrooge, he would pull it back. Even if Scrooge didn't love him, he loved Scrooge, and he would never hurt the older duck like that. Donald obeyed his Grandma Duck now, body, mind, and soul: a Duck can never get angry.

His kids were screaming. Glomgold had hired Dragon Hunters to kill Scrooge this time, Gladstone was protecting the little dragons, the Luck Dragon would not fall tonight, that would be unlucky, Gladstone can't be unlucky. The arrival of Uncle Ludwig and Aunt Matilda added an extra layer of protection for the four dragon children. Scrooge had shifted into his own form, defending Donald from the Hunters. Donald couldn't hear what the phony Scotsman said to Uncle Scrooge, but it clearly angered him. Donald felt something within him he had only heard about from Grandma Duck before. A Sea Dragon's rage, he remembered, was cold. He never felt calmer before when he stepped in front of his Family, "Leave them alone Glomgold. Or else." He heard his own voice say. He heard Glomgold's reply clear enough. "Or else what? Ye are a weak, defenseless ingrate!" Donald had shifted then, stalking forward, his frozen rage building a storm around them. "What do you know about Sea Dragons Glomgold? Did you know we are the Harbingers of ill fortune to our enemies? And Glomgold, you foolish idiot, guess who you are to me." Donald leaned down so the fool that threatened his family could get a good look at the electrical ball of energy charging. "Run Glomgold. RUN! And never touch my family again." As Donald watched the fake Scottish duck run away he missed the awed gasps of the children, the shocked looks of Uncle Ludwig, Aunt Matilda, and Gladstone, and the tears of relief from Uncle Scrooge. He didn't feel his bad luck reaching for them. He finally had control. After all, a Duck can never get angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: This one was dark. I will tag any triggers I can think of and if I miss any please let me know. Now about Donald, Sea Dragons can curse people with bad luck just by being seen and while viewing a Duck in dragon form isn't enough to curse other Sea Dragons, the Ducks are the only lineage that can force bad luck on other Sea Dragons. Your average Sea Dragon can't do that. Donald had to learn how to control it and how to be enraged without anger to mess up who he was aiming his curse at. I hope this cleared stuff up!

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s note: ….. McDucks are the most powerful of dragon Clans in Scotland. The Von Drakes are also dragons. The Ducks were Sea Dragons. Dragons try to marry only other long lived races because they care too much. For them a hundred years are not long enough and then spend hundreds mourning. So they try to avoid getting attached to mortals. Scrooge thought the Ducks were normal ducks and Donald had taken after his father. Ludwig was searching for a way to extend Donald’s life so they wouldn’t lose him to old age. Della and Scrooge tried to find magical solutions to that problem. That is that.


End file.
